BooksmartReview

Olivia Wilde makes her directorial debut with Booksmart, a whip-smart coming-of-age comedy for every girl who's ever been called a "try-hard." Following the film's world premiere at SXSW, the actress-turned-director took to the stage before a packed house and confessed her ambition was to make a teen comedy on the level of a John Hughes classic. Like the overachievers at the heart of this ferociously funny film, she dreamed big, worked hard, and succeeded with flying colors. Wilde has made a coming-of-age comedy that's sure to be a modern classic.

On the last day of senior year, best friends Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) are on top of the world. They scored valedictorian and salutatorian respectively and got accepted to their dream schools. Now all that's left is graduation…and one more day with the hyperactive lunkheads they call classmates. But things take a turn when Molly discovers her peers' hard-partying lifestyles didn't prevent them from getting into prestigious universities. Outraged and stung with regret, Molly pushes Amy into making the most of their last night as seniors. Gearing up with lip balm, mace, and matching Rosie The Riveter-style jumpsuits, these good girls will hunt down the dopest house parties, dabble in club drugs, flirt with their secret crushes, and attempt a ludicrously ill-conceived hijacking using their hair as impromptu ski masks. It'll be a wild night they'll never forget, bringing not only hysterical shenanigans, but also a poignant story about a friendship at the precipice of a terrifying change.

Written by Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, and Katie Silberman, Booksmart crackles with wit, warmth, and gleefully raunchy yet woke jokes. Like last year's Blockers--also a SXSW world premiere--Booksmart has a never-been-kissed lesbian as one of its heroes. Amy is crushing hard on a skater girl, but her super-supportive parents assume Molly is her "special friend." So when the besties say they're going to go do "Korean face masks," Amy's mom (the divine Lisa Kudrow) assumes that's a sex-thing and says briskly but smiling, "I don't need to know all the words." But that's not all. A handful of their classmates are LGBTQ+, and each gets an interest beyond being a catty queer stereotype. Moreover, Amy's journey is not about coming out. (She did that sophomore year.) It's not some American Pie-like race to lose her virginity. Instead, it's about Amy becoming comfortable in her own skin, an arc explored through furtive flirtations, taking the plunge, and a bathroom hook-up that goes wholly awry.

Booksmart Gallery

8 IMAGES

Fullscreen Image

Artboard 3 Copy

Artboard 3

ESC

01 OF 08

Kaitlyn Dever stars as Amy and Beanie Feldstein as Molly in Booksmart from Annapurna Pictures

01 OF 08

Kaitlyn Dever stars as Amy and Beanie Feldstein as Molly in Booksmart from Annapurna Pictures

Booksmart Gallery

Annapurna Pictures

Download Image

Captions

ESC

While parts of this are scream-laugh funny, a sequence where she sheds a sequined party dress like a snake sheds its skin is deeply moving and strikingly beautiful. Amy strips down to her underwear and slides into the pool after her crush. For the first time, she doesn't seem scared. She sinks below the water and swims. And though she's scantily clad, Wilde's camera doesn't leer at her as a beautiful object. Instead, this moment is treated as beautiful, blissful, and promising. It's one of those too-rare moments of youth where you felt exhilaratingly free, like anything was possible, all you had to do was reach out and snatch at the stars. Here is where I dropped my jaw in awe of Wilde. For much of the movie, Booksmart is sharply paced, bringing a zinging punchline, a goofy visual, a thrilling cameo, or a gross-out gag, so regularly you can almost dance to these bouncy beats. But then she had the confidence to totally switch gears and dive into the deep end, literally. There's no joke in this sequence. And as we follow Amy out of the pool with a fraught tracking shot, Booksmart takes a dramatic turn that's achingly authentic to the female experience.

Before the movie began, Wilde had given a brief curtain speech where she named the women who worked on the movie, from its writers, stars, editor, casting director, and more. It's great that she used that platform to bring greater visibility to the women behind the scenes, especially in an industry that is so male-dominated. But in a sense she didn't need to, because their contribution is felt in every Booksmart beat that acutely captures female experience. The slow-burn of a crush. The sting of rejection. The rush of a first kiss. The complicated nature of teen girl friendships, where love, frustration, and co-dependence make for a dizzying journey that occasionally leads to thrills and fun but also painful wrecks.

You know these girls. Maybe you were these girls, are these girls. They work so hard, and their ambition and eagerness is dubbed chronically uncool. But f**k the haters, because they make sense to each other. Feldstein and Dever are absolutely brilliant. Their chemistry is beyond charismatic, it's enveloping. From the moment they jump into a gawky impromptu dance party to amp up about their last day, they have us in the palms of their sweaty hands. Feldstein, who stole scenes in Neighbors 2 and Ladybird, is a comedy assassin, killing it in every scene whether she's delivering withering rejoinders, mugging in shock and snark, or badgering Amy about the secrets of her special panda plush. Dever is her straight man, setting her up for bombastic rants and bringing a low-key yet consistently hilarious deliveries and wide-eyed reactions. And when it comes to more dramatic moments, the Justified star delivers just as keenly. Together they are dynamite. But they aren't the only actresses whose performances demand shout-outs.

Exit Theatre Mode

Jessica Williams pops by for a playful cameo as a cool teacher who makes questionable life choices. Diana Silvers has the look and vibe of a young Julia Roberts as a fascinating bad girl for our booksmart heroines to bicker with. Molly Gordon (also of the SXSW headliner Good Boys) plays Triple A, a popular and promiscuous girl who quips, "I'm incredible at handjobs, but I also got a 1560 on the SATs." Here is where Booksmart feels more like the daughter of Amy Heckerling's work than John Hughes'. "Triple A" is slut-shamed by her classmates for giving "roadside assistance"--wink wink--to three guys. Where many a teen comedy would scorn her sexual history, reducing her to a two-dimensional bimbo stereotype, Booksmart gives this girl dignity, wit, a monologue about that demeaning moniker, and ultimately a real name. This thread demands we not only see Triple A past the racy rumors, but reconsider any girl who's gotten saddled with a similarly sexist double-standard slander.

Last but certainly not least, there's Gigi, played by Billie Lourd. Every school has a Gigi. She's a party girl who seems like she's from another planet. While most teens are favoring t-shirts and jeans, Gigi dresses like she's about to swan into a high-fashion Jonas Brothers video or an Instagram influencer party. She's a glorious drama queen and a mystifying train wreck. She's the girl whose wild ways we fear and envy. And in Booksmart, she's perfectly impossible, popping up again and again, logic or location be damned. You cannot explain a Gigi, and Lourd embraces this magical mystique like the blossoming comedy queen she is. She's radiant and weird whether throwing herself onto the hood of a muscle car, springing off a party yacht, or doling out life advice like a club kid Dear Abby. She's outrageous and hilarious. And yet beneath it all, there's a gentle layer of melancholy that gives Gigi depth. In short, Lourd's doing right by the legacy of her iconic and devastatingly funny mom.

The Verdict

Wilde thoughtfully brought together a cast and crew full of impeccably talented women to make a teen comedy that overachiever girls could truly call their own. The script is snappy, outrageous, and full of heart, giving depth to stock characters often marginalized and mocked. And it does all this while thoughtfully exploring the pressures and pitfalls of the unique hell of being a teen girl. The cast is pitch-perfect, scoring big laughs, heart swells, and even tears. Feldstein and Dever are a phenomenal comedy duo; Lourd is a stellar standout. And Wilde crushed it right out the gate. I can't wait to see what she brings next. But I'll settle for just seeing this over and over again.